Decision or Despair
The writer of I Samuel so succinctly captures the age old challenge of life.
“The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.” I Sam 17:3 NIV.
Life is never easy but the lens through which one views life always determines our impact. It is not a matter of whether or not good triumphs over evil, that has been determined by the cross. What matters is whether or not we get to play apart in that glorious triumph.
There will always be a foe and because of that, a decision. Before every tipping point, every transformation, one always faces the dreaded Valley of Decision. That valley always requires descent, full entry, if the foe is to be thwarted. Stepping into that valley always costs, and usually something held dear. For that reason courage is the capital.
The opposite of courage is fear, though someone once said, F.E.A.R. is simply “false evidence appearing as real.” Fear screams loss, yet only temporality distracts the victor from the reality that what is to be gained, is always greater than our loss. Our assets may change, but the reward of good’s triumph always outweighs our loss and outlives our lifetime!
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”–Edmund Burke